This copy is for your personal non-commercial use only. To order presentation-ready copies of Toronto Star content for distribution to colleagues, clients or customers, or inquire about permissions/licensing, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com

Canada does just enough to draw with Dutch and win Group A at World Cup

Canadian Ashley Lawrence’s 10th-minute goal was cancelled out but Netherlands substitute Kirsten Van De Ven’s top-corner strike in the dying minutes.

Canada's Kaylyn Kyle, left, and the Netherlands' Anouk Dekker battle for the ball in the second half of their Women's World Cup match in Montreal. The Dutch scored a late goal in the 1-1 draw, but Canada still advanced as the top team in Group A. (Ryan Remiorz / THE CANADIAN PRESS)

MONTREAL—Canada did just enough, but not more, to secure first place in Group A at the Women’s World Cup with a nervy draw against the Dutch Monday night.

“When I spoke with them at the end of the game there, I said, ‘Congratulations, we won the group, but we’re making this tough for ourselves.’ That’s what we’ve got to shift in the next few days,” coach John Herdman said following the 1-1 draw.

Youngster Ashley Lawrence chose the right time to score her first international goal, though the Brampton native’s 10th minute side-footer was cancelled out by Netherlands substitute Kirsten Van De Ven’s top-corner strike in the dying minutes of the match.

But another draw in the game between fellow Group A teams China and New Zealand, being played at the same time in Winnipeg, meant Canada advanced to the round of 16 atop their group, if not in the most convincing of fashions.

The five points Canada secured means the team will face a third-place finisher in the first stage of the knockout rounds Sunday in Vancouver. They will face the top third-place team from Groups C, D, and E, but their opponent won’t be decided until Wednesday night.

Article Continued Below

Have Your Say

China also moves on, in second place, while the Dutch could still be one of the four third-place teams to advance. Both finished with four points.

Lawrence’s goal made for an ideal start for the Canadians, who had struggled to put the ball in the back of the net during regulation play in their first two games.

Herdman praised the 20-year-old Brampton native, who has started all three matches for Canada, for “lighting it up” in the midfield.

“It’s a little bit of pace, and just composure to finish that goal,” he said. “She had a few chances tonight. She certainly had the bit between her teeth.”

Herdman made four changes from the starting XI used in both of Canada’s matches in Edmonton. Carmelina Moscato, Kaylyn Kyle, Jessie Fleming and Adriana Leon came in to create a more attacking-minded 4-3-3 formation.

A deflected shot by Lawrence in the sixth minute dropped for Sophie Schmidt to head, but the midfielder pinged Canada’s first chance off the crossbar. But four minutes later, when a shot by Schmidt rebounded off Dutch defender Stefanie Van Der Gragt, Lawrence was at the back post to collect, driving the ball calmly driving the ball home.

The Netherlands’ talented strike force of Manon Melis, Vivianne Miedeman and Lieke Martens threatened but couldn’t find a way through, until the dying moments of the game when the Canadian defenders noticeably tired.

Minutes before Van De Ven’s top-class drive tied it up, goalkeeper Erin McLeod was forced into a fantastic save with her trailing leg when Melis skipped away from substitute Rhian Wilkinson. She had no chance when a three-on-one fast break by the Dutch ended in a top-class drive from the substitute.

Wilkinson was still feeling a bit too raw after the game to accept congratulations on her return from injury.

“We’re happy to be out of the group but we’re definitely not overly thrilled with the performance. Me coming in the last 10 minutes, I have to shoulder some of the blame there. As a senior player coming in to shore it up, I definitely disappointed the team.”

She replaced the standout Schmidt who, in a worrying moment for Canada, left the game late in the second half due to an undisclosed injury.

“Good news for us is we’ve got a good recovery (period) because we played the first round of games,” Herdman said. “We’re lucky in that sense that we get a bigger recovery window than some of our opponents.”

But Canada will need to play a full game if they’re to continue past the first elimination round, said captain Christine Sinclair.

“We’ve reached our potential for moments,” she said, “but not for 90 minutes yet, no way.”

More from the Toronto Star & Partners

LOADING

Copyright owned or licensed by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or distribution of this content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Toronto Star Newspapers Limited and/or its licensors. To order copies of Toronto Star articles, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com